Born in Tokyo, Japan.Ritsuko has grown up with classical music in childhood with her father who was an enthusiast of the music, especially Bach, and he occasionally listened to the Jazz band, Jacques Loussier Trio, playing Bach. That was her first experience of Jazz, although it had been a long time to get close into Jazz in the next place.

Ritsuko passed an audition of Toho movie company in her high school age and became an actress and the screen name was Mai Tachihara. While she performed a professional actress, she went on to a college and her major was acting. In the college, she learned Japanese new/old stage acting, Classical Japanese dance, shamisen, Japanese classical strings, and Japanese drum. After graduation, Ritsuko, Mai Tachihara, has been performing an actress on TV drama, movie, theater and commercial film up to the present date.

Ritsuko happened to visit the Jazz Club Daphne in Kamakura for the first time immediate before her 40th birthday with her mother who was a regular customer of the club. That was her second and big encounter with Jazz. After that she has been participating regularly in the sessions of Jazz vocalists of Daphne, which was held at the club monthly. She had learned how to sing Jazz songs and some of the people she met there gave her chances to sing on live stage at Jazz club. At first she enjoyed singing Jazz as a hobby, however, Ritsuko had been increasingly fascinated with Jazz and started to perform singing professionally while she was working as an actress.

In 2014, Ritsuko stayed in New York City to learn more about Jazz. She studied with Carol Fredette and Marianne Solivan about vocal training. And she attended workshops of Barry Harris, Marion Cowings and Bob Stroof and some jam sessions and she began to build a friendship with many Jazz musicians in NYC.

Ritsuko’s life has changed with Jazz. She started the career as a professional Jazz vocalist which even herself had not expected. Jazz makes her believe all the experiences in her life, whether good or not, are wonderful. Ritsuko has her mind on singing and acting wholeheartedly with her own experiences.

Currently, Ritsuko is performing regularly at the Jazz clubs in Tokyo, Yokohama and Kamakura.